A new book in the Professor Eustacia Rose Mystery series, Hell's Bells heralds the return of the reclusive, indomitable botanical toxicologist.
Hell's Bells, also known as Bella Donna, is book two of the series. Our friend Professor Rose is now sans poison garden, after the personal attacks on her pride and joy, and person, in book one of the series, Devil's Breath, (aka The Woman In The Garden).
Being reinstated as Head of Botanical Toxicology at University College London and having her girlfriend Matilde move in doesn't quite make up for it, but the Prof can at least still spy on people from her rooftop; now a more inviting place for breakfast, with geraniums and carnations.
Eustacia's trademark look, a Harris Tweed suit and a Rolex, complete with hair kept 'short, neat, and precisely parted,' are a link to her dearly departed father. This style gives Eustacia's character dimension and I can't stop visualising her.
Eustacia's character, who finds 'social interaction, eye contact and humour challenging,' is a deliberate portrayal of someone on the spectrum. She is precise: everything must be in its place. Eustacia can't stand unnecessary noise or company not of her choosing, values quiet and privacy, and certainly not physical interaction. She prefers to watch the sky and her neighbours through her rooftop telescope. Everyone she meets is given a botanical name, as she usually forgets their real one:
This student earned his name when he was an undergraduate. Giant Hogweed. Latin name Heracleum mantegazzianum - a tall, willowy plant with phototoxic sap (in its large leaves that causes phytophotodermatitis, resulting in painful blisters and scarring). I'd named him this not only because he was extremely tall, with huge hands and red blotchy skin, but also because he was highly irritating... (to the point of causing me physical pain).
Matilde, her girlfriend, is named after Sweet Alyssum - 'Lobularia maritama, a beautiful little plant with a huge impact'. Her neighbour Susan is Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). With her dark eyes, Eustacia judges her to be 'mildly irritating but harmless.' DCI Roberts, Eustacia's unlikely partner in crime-busting, is Ragweed: Ambrosia artemisiifolia.
In this book DCI Roberts wants Eustacia's help with another case - a man injected in the neck with something that left him in a coma. Could it be a plant poison?
There's also something up with Giant Hogweed and it's worse than his usual habit of grabbing his professors by the wrist. He's convinced Eustacia still has her garden and demands access to it. Could he be on drugs? Or is he doing personal testing of plant toxins? Could the case and Hogweed's behaviour be linked? Eustacia's determined to both avoid him and find out what he's up to at the same time.
The Prof, with all her quirks, is also funny and self-effacing,
I turned on my heel and headed for the service exit. The problem of turning on one's heel on a highly polished foyer floor is the squeal of one's shoe and the resulting echo around the cavernous space.
and is placed in the difficult position of having to fend off the slightly unwelcome attentions of a female police officer, Detective Sergeant Chambers (who she names Barberry - Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpirea):
"You were staring at her chest."
I let out a shocked cry of protest. "I was not! I was identifying the flowers on her shirt." Bellis perennis If I wasn't mistaken.
from Fantastic Fiction:
Jill Johnson is Māori and lives in the United Kingdom, having lived in south-east Asia, Europe and New Zealand. She's run a comic store, Gosh! Comics, a graphic novel publishing company and an editorial cartoon gallery. She also has a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Design, which is where the plant toxicology comes from. Her first novel, The Time Before the Time to Come was published in 2018.
If you're hooked on this series, as I am, watch out for a new book in August, The Poison Grove!
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